"THE CONGRESSMAN DID HAVE A STROKE"

By Celia Cohen
Grapevine Political Writer

U.S. Rep. Michael N. Castle had a small stroke,
technically two small strokes, but his doctors
anticipate he will be able to resume his work as a
congressman and return to campaigning after an
unspecified stretch of time for rest and recovery.

A weekend of sparse information and speculation came
to an end Sunday evening with a press conference at
Christiana Hospital in Stanton with Michael E.
Stillabower, a cardiologist, and Neil C. Porter, a
neurologist, who have been treating Castle there.

"The congressman did have a stroke," Porter said.
"He's really doing amazingly well. He's pretty much back
to his normal self. Obviously he's tired and sleepy. My
hope is he'll be back to normal over a small period of
time."

The doctors said Castle was speaking clearly, his
heart was beating regularly, and although they were
keeping him in bed, they anticipated he would be
walking. They said he would spend a few days in the
hospital but could not be more specific. His main
treatment is an aspirin tablet a day.

It sounded positive for Castle, a Wilmington
Republican who is one of the leading figures of Delaware
politics, an enthusiastic campaigner who towers over
voters with a six-foot-four frame but has a stoop to his
shoulders and a smile that almost seem to apologize for
it.

It was also a reminder that Castle is 67, although as
his doctors pointed out, he is a vigorous man never
regarded as old. He has held statewide office for 25
years with one term as lieutenant governor, two terms as
governor and a record-setting seven terms as the state's
only member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

A national figure as a leader of a dwindling band of
Republican moderates, Castle recently has raised his
profile as the sponsor of a stem-cell research bill that
became President George W. Bush's only veto.

Castle was stricken about six weeks before the
election amid his campaign for an eighth term, running
against Democrat Dennis Spivack and two minor-party
candidates.

According to the doctors, Castle was feeling
fatigued, drowsy and nauseous when he woke up Saturday
morning while at his beach house in Dewey Beach with his
wife Jane, and after 15 or 20 minutes, they decided to
call 911 for emergency transport to Beebe Medical Center
in Lewes.

Although a CAT scan of his head did not confirm that
Castle had a stroke, he was experiencing an irregular
heartbeat and pauses in his breathing, so he was
helicoptered to Christiana, where an MRI did indicate a
small stroke.

Technically it was two small strokes caused by a
blood clot, Porter said, in two small areas right next
to each other in the thalamus, the part of the brain
that acts as a relay station and controls sensation, or
the ability to feel objects, pressure and pain. He said
Castle had no major abnormalities as a result of the
stroke.

"The expectation is to give him time to rest and
recover and regain his strength. He's had excellent
recovery and improvement throughout the day. He's got
his personality back in full force. Right now I do think
he'll be able to campaign," Stillabower said.

In addition to the medical team and his wife, Castle
had a full political contingent in attendance at the
hospital, people who have been with him for decades --
Michael Ratchford, who was the secretary of state when
Castle was governor, Basil R. Battaglia, a past
Republican state chair, Jeffrey A. Dayton, his state
director, and Carl Hostetter, his campaign treasurer.

Although it was clear that Castle had thrown a scare
into them, they were encouraged by his progress.

"I saw the congressman around noon today," Ratchford
said. "He was sitting up in bed. He's groggy but he was
in good spirits. He was asking about the Blue Hens. I'm
very optimistic we're going to have a full-speed
recovery. The hardest thing will probably be getting him
to rest."

Dayton said Castle remained aware of what was
happening. Castle remembered when he was being sedated
intravenously at Beebe, he complained to Jane, "Hey,
those guys gave me something."

The medical and political attendants overlapped to
give Castle his own Ronald Reagan moment, when the late
president was shot and quipped, "I hope all you doctors
are Republicans."